JETS 54.4 (December 2011) 823–83 BOOK REVIEWS Christopher A. Rollston, Writing and Literacy in the World of Ancient Israel: Epigraphic Evidence from the Iron Age. Archaeology and Biblical Studies 11. Atlanta, SBL, 2010, xx + 171 pp., $21.95 paper. While there exist valuable scholarly collections of ancient Hebrew inscriptions (e.g. G. I. Davies, Renz and Röllig, Dobbs-Allsopps et al., Ahituv), to which one should add, at a more popular level, P. Kyle McCarter, Ancient Inscriptions (Washington: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1996), non-technical introductions to West Semitic epigraphy as a !eld, with its methods, results, and limits, remain scarce. Since J. Naveh, Early His- tory of the Alphabet (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1982), G. Garbini has written Introduzione all’epigra!a semitica (Brescia: Paideia, 2006), but it is essentially an overview of the various regional corpus, and already a lengthy and detailed book. It is all the more appreciable that a leading epigraphist such as Christopher Rollston has been willing to write a concise textbook on this fascinating subject. In addition to teaching at Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee, Rollston is editor for the journal MAARAV and has published valuable contributions to epigraphic research. The book is divided into two parts. In the !rst, concerning the question “broad tab- leau?” Rollston rapidly describes the traces we have of the earliest alphabetic system in the second millennium BC, as well as the Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet. Then he devotes more space to the stabilized and standardized Phoenician script, introducing among other items the royal Byblian inscriptions from the tenth century BC, and convincingly reasserting their conventional dating against recent attempts by B. Sass to postdate them. Following Naveh, Rollston argues that the Phoenician script was widely used in the Levant until distinctive national scripts developed from it during the ninth century (for Paleo-Hebrew) and eighth century (for Aramaic). Finally, in a pleasant and well- illustrated chapter, the main types of inscriptions are outlined mainly according to the material on which they were written, such as monumental stones, statues, pottery, papyri, and seals. The second part of the book explores the work of ancient scribes. In light of Meso- potamian, Egyptian, and biblical texts, Rollston underscores the high status of this profession in antiquity. Though avoiding the term “school” because it is often understood in too narrow a sense, he brilliantly demonstrates that “Israelite scribes were the re- cipients of formal, standardized education” (p. 113). He concludes that Israelites were certainly capable of producing “literature” in Iron Age IIA. However, when one sees his assertion that “elites in ancient Israel were writing during Iron Age IIA (900–800 BC)” (p. 134), one wonders whether he follows the “low chronology” (still rejected by a major- ity of archaeologists and recently modi!ed by I. Finkelstein himself) or whether 900 BC means the earliest date at which he can establish there was literature during Iron Age IIA (as seems to follow from his argumentation). In the last chapter, Rollston deals with the problem of the authenticity of items found in today’s antiquities market, trying to navigate between systematic acceptance and a priori rejection of them. Those already acquainted with Rollston’s publications will !nd here, gathered in a convenient synthesis, several ideas he has developed in scholarly articles, such as 824 !"#$%&' "( )*+ +,&%-+'./&' )*+"'"-./&' 0"/.+)1 54/4 his groundbreaking “Scribal Education in Ancient Israel: The Old Hebrew Epigraphic Evidence?” (BASOR 344 [2006] 47–74). Not surprisingly, some ideas presented in this book would not be shared by all epigraphists. There has already been a debate between Rollston and his Doktorvater (P. Kyle McCarter) about whether the script of the Tel Zayit abecedary is Phoenician or a sort of “South-Canaanite” precursor of Paleo-Hebrew (R. E. Tappy and P. Kyle McCarter, Literate Culture and Tenth-Century Canaan: The Tel Zayit Abecedary in Context [Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2008]). Regarding the literature in Iron Age Israel, Rollston makes an excellent case for its existence (at least) as early as the ninth century, contrary to a current trend among biblicists but standing with other competent epigraphists (e.g. A. Lemaire, A. Millard). It would have been interesting to discuss the case of the tenth century (even if one thinks that Israelites wrote them in Phoenician script), as well as the historical implications of the fact that Israel and Judah shared the same script. In spite of the presence of technical pages on Paleo-Hebrew paleography (pp. 97– 107), this work is well written and quite clear, perfectly suited for non-specialists pro- vided they have a rudimentary idea of the Hebrew alphabet. For somebody already interested in the topic, it is delightful reading. Not only is it the book I would recom- mend as an introduction to West Semitic epigraphy, but it would certainly be useful for many biblicists to read it, in a context where many of them draw hasty conclusions about the composition of the biblical texts without having a sound idea of the concrete work of ancient scribes. Matthieu Richelle Faculté Libre de Théologie Évangélique, Vaux-sur-Seine, France The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation. By Richard Bauck- ham. Sarum Theological Lectures. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010, xi + 226 pp., $24.95 paper. How should one understand the relationship between humanity and the rest of creation according to the Bible? In this book, Richard Bauckham criticizes the dominion model, the stewardship model, and even the priestly model as inadequate to account for the biblical teaching on this issue. Instead, he demonstrates from Scripture a portrait of humans as fellow creatures in a reciprocal relationship with the rest of creation, all of which is redeemed in Christ according to Col 1:15–20. Only when Christians begin to appreciate the whole witness of Scripture regarding the non-human creation will we think rightly about ecological concerns. Bauckham begins his survey with a look at the Torah. In his view, Genesis 1 has been misinterpreted to give humans a kind of control over creation that biblically belongs to God alone. “Subduing” is a reference to agriculture, “having dominion” means “partici- pating in God’s caring rule over his creatures” (p. 19), and the creation order does not suggest human authority any more than it suggests creeping things have authority over the birds. After a lengthy discussion of Genesis 1–2, Bauckham argues that the 2ood narrative shows the dire consequences of violence within creation and holds out Noah as a model of “the peaceable and caring relationship with animals that had been God’s creative ideal” (p. 24). Killing for food is also not God’s ideal but is a concession that is given with certain restrictions that are unfortunately ignored today. Furthermore, Israel’s land law demonstrates a regard for the rest of creation that is too often forgotten. *%+%,!%$ 2011 !""# $%&'%() 825 Chapter 2 focuses on Job 38–39, which powerfully gives the reader joy in and humil- ity toward God’s creation. Chapter 3 considers various biblical texts (e.g. Psalms 104; 148; Matt 6:25–33; Rom 8:18–23) that view humans as part of a theocentric “community of creation,” in which God alone is exalted and nature is neither divine nor secular, but sacred. In chapter 4, Bauckham counters the claim that the Bible promotes a negative view of wilderness, holding out the examples of Adam (“the -rst naturalist,” p. 130), Noah, and Jesus (who “was with the wild animals” in Mark 1:13) as counterevidence. In Chapter 5, Bauckham shows that Jesus’ redemption of “all things” includes nature (cf. Col 1:20), and argues that as we await the -nal reconciliation of all things, our present ministry must involve not only reconciliation to God but also reconciliation to all creation. Over the years, Bauckham has proven himself such an able scholar that one now expects his research not only to inform the reader but also to tear down faulty para- digms, and this book does not disappoint. In an age in which many in the church are surprisingly more reluctant than those outside the church to express ecological concern, Bauckham successfully demonstrates that this hesitance is rooted in Enlightenment thought that goes against the grain of Scripture. He exposes faulty interpretations of texts and introduces other passages that are typically unconsidered in regard to this subject. The person who thinks about non-human creation within a dominion or a steward- ship framework needs to read this book. Readers will not -nd speci-c instructions for applying this message but will encounter a solid biblical challenge to transform their way of thinking about the non-human creation. They will be pleased with Bauckham’s knowledge of the biblical text in its original context, and yet will not be burdened with the need to understand Hebrew or Greek or the cultural background of the biblical texts. At times Bauckham’s critique of modern culture is prophetic: “It is the exclusive focus on a vertical relationship to the rest of creation—whether it be called rule or dominion or stewardship or even priesthood—that has been one of the ideological driv- ing forces of the modern technological project of dominating nature” (p. 11). He also asserts, “Christians have been surprisingly slow to appreciate the connection between the modern world’s rejection of God and the ecologically disastrous modern project of technological conquest of nature” (p. 30). He stresses that “Jesus Christ is . the one who, through his resurrection . renews all things. Thus to see creation whole we must see it in relation to the cruci!ed and risen Jesus” (p.